31.Who was Adil Shahi ruler when independent Maratha State was founded?
[A] Ibrahim Adil Shah II
[B] Malik Hasan Bahri
[C] Muhammad Adil Shah
[D] Ali Adil Shah I
Answer: C [Muhammad Adil Shah]
Notes:
During the reign of the king Muhammad Adil Shah, he witnessed revolt of Shahaji and then, the rise of Shivaji to eminence and his founding of an independent Maratha State, which was initially carved out of the Bijapur Kingdom.
32.Dadu Dayal belonged to which of the following regions?
[A] Gujarat
[B] Rajasthan
[C] Kerala
[D] Bihar
Answer: A [Gujarat]
Notes:
Dadu Dayal, one of the major representatives of the Nirguna Sant traditions in Northern India, was a saint from Gujarat. He spent the best part of his spiritual life in Rajasthan.
33.Which of the following gave Sher Shah Suri the title of Sher Khan for his bravery?
[A] Malik Mohammad Jaysi
[B] Bahar Khan Lohani
[C] Islam Shah
[D] None of the above
Answer: B [Bahar Khan Lohani]
Notes:
Sher Shah Suri was the son of Hasan Khan who was a jagirdar of Sasaram in South Bihar (Jaunpur). Sher Shah Suri served under the Afghan governor of Bihar named Bahar Khan Lohani, who gave him the title Sher Khan for his bravery as he killed a tiger.
34.Battle of Pratapgarh was fought between Shivaji and __?
[A] Afzal Khan
[B] Adil Shah
[C] Shah Alam II
[D] Akbar II
Answer: A [Afzal Khan]
Notes:
Shivaji’s military conquests made him a legendary figure in the Maratha region, and many locals came forward to join his army. He fought in the Battle of Pratapgarh with Afzal Khan who represented Adil Shah of Bijapur in which Shivaji killed Afzal Khan with his tiger claws and became a local hero.
35.Which of the following looked after finance and general administration in the empire of Shivaji?
[A] Peshwa
[B] Sar-i-Naubat
[C] Amatya
[D] Surnavis
Answer: A [Peshwa]
Notes:
Peshwa or Pant Pradhan looked after finance and general administration. However, the office of Peshwa later became more powerful and the Peshwa functioned more as the prime minister. There was great focus on Intelligence and a centralised intelligence department was created.
36.Which of the following is known in history for making the post of the Peshwa hereditary?
[A] Moropant Trimbak Pingle
[B] Sonopant Dabir
[C] Balaji Vishwanath
[D] Shyampant Kulkarni Ranzekar
Answer: C [Balaji Vishwanath]
Notes:
Balaji Vishwanath Bhatt belonged to the Bhatt family of Shri Vardhan in the Konkan region. He was the Peshwa during the period 1713 CE to 1719 CE. He is known in history for making the post of the Peshwa hereditary.
37.Which of this is true regarding nadus which developed in the early medieval period?
(i.) In the early medieval period, autonomous agricultural regions called nadus developed in southern India.
(ii.) The members of this assembly were velalas, or non-brahmin farmers.
(iii.) They were organized on the basis of clan and kinship relations.
[A] Only i
[B] Only ii and iii
[C] All i, ii and iii
[D] Only i and iii
Answer: C [All i, ii and iii]
Notes:
In the early medieval period, autonomous agricultural regions called nadus developed in southern India. They were organized on the basis of clan and kinship relations. Agricultural production in the Nadus was organized and controlled by Nattar, who were people from Nadu who organize themselves in assemblies, that is, Nadu. The members of this assembly were velalas, or non-brahmin farmers.
38.In which year the battle of Chaul took place?
[A] January 1508
[B] March 1508
[C] January 1580
[D] March 1580
Answer: A [January 1508]
Notes:
In the battle of Chaul in January 1508 the governor of Junagarh and the Egyptian fleet sent by the Mamluk Sultan were victorious, but the Egyptian and Gujarati fleets invincible at sea and opened negotiations for peace with governor Albuquerque.
39.The Muslim adventurer who destroyed the Nalanda University was _____:
[A] Muhammad-bin-Tughlak
[B] Alla-ud-din Khilji
[C] Muhammad-bin-Quasim
[D] Muhammad-bin-Bhaktiyar
Answer: D [Muhammad-bin-Bhaktiyar]
Notes:
In 1193, the Nalanda University was destroyed by the Islamic fanatic Bakhtiyar Khilji, a Turk; this event is seen by scholars as a late milestone in the decline of Buddhism in India. The troops of the Ghurid Empire general Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji destroyed and began the demise of Nalanda and other monasteries near it, such as the Odantapura Vihar (now called Bihar Sharif) about 6 miles away from Nalanda.
40.An agricultural department known as ‘Diwan-i-kohi’ was created by _____:
[A] Mohammad-bin-Tughlaq
[B] Firoz Tughlaq
[C] Alauddin Khilji
[D] Jalaluddin Khilji
Answer: A [Mohammad-bin-Tughlaq]
Notes:
To improve cultivation in the Doab, Muhammad bin Tughlaq set up a separate agriculture department called diwan-i-amir-kohi. The department divided the Doab into development blocs headed by an official who would give loans to farmers and engage them in the cultivation of superior crops.